The Baltimore Orioles of the MLB on Thursday congratulated former Taiwanese starting pitcher Chen Wei-yin on his upcoming retirement on March 16.
“The Orioles congratulate Wei-yin Chen on his outstanding career on both sides of the Pacific,” Orioles public relations director Jackie Harig told the Central News Agency. “He was the first Taiwanese player in team history and played a key role in the Orioles reaching the post-season in 2012 and 2014. A constant in the Orioles rotation, he had the lowest ERA and the starts and innings pitched of any Orioles starter during his four seasons here. We wish him well in his retirement.”
The Orioles made the statement after the 39-year-old lefty’s Facebook post on Wednesday announcing that he had decided to retire from professional baseball.
Photo: CNA
Chen said he had decided to step down from his 20-year career after realizing he could no longer perform at the highest level.
“As a professional player, pain and fatigue have never been the hardest things to deal with. The real challenge is honestly facing up to no longer being at one’s peak,” Chen wrote. “After countless internal struggles, I told my wife: ‘My body has reached its limit. I think it’s time for me to retire.’”
The Taiwanese pitched for the Orioles between 2012 and 2016.
He made his MLB debut with the team on April 10, 2012, as a starter against the New York Yankees, making him the seventh Taiwanese player to play in the MLB.
He played four seasons with the team, before signing an US$80 million five-year contract with the Miami Marlins in 2016, the largest guaranteed contract for a pitcher in Marlins franchise history.
Before his MLB career, Chen got his professional start in Japan after signing for the Nagoya-based Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2003.
He made his official professional debut in 2005 with the Dragons.
Chen was also the first player born in Taiwan to sign with a US major league team from the NPB.
The Dragons announced that Chen would throw the ceremonial first pitch on March 16 to mark his retirement inside the team’s home stadium, Vantelin Dome, before an exhibition game ahead of the NPB season.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
RSS